DOVER — For a team that struggled the first half of the season but still hopes to make the Division II playoffs, a late-January blowout win might be just what the doctor ordered for the St. Thomas Aquinas High School boys basketball team.

Plagued by poor shooting in the first half on Tuesday night, the Saints were able to overcome it in the second en route to a 50-33 win over Merrimack Valley.

“Definitely helps boost the confidence,” said St. Thomas senior point guard Jon Nartiff. “It lets us know that we are good and can compete with other teams. We had a rough start to the season, played some tough teams. We’re trying just to get to .500 and get to the playoffs.”

Nartiff led all scorers with 24 points and Schuyler Hedberg added 12 for the Saints, who improved to 2-5. Merrimack Valley fell to 2-6. St. Thomas’s only D-II win of the season before Tuesday was a 62-53 decision at Kennett more than a month earlier.

St. Thomas was coming off a 56-54 loss at Pelham one week ago. First-year St. Thomas coach Dave Sokolnicki hopes this is the beginning of a turnaround for this team as it nears the halfway point..

“We’re starting to build an identity,” Sokolnicki said. “We had Pelham on the ropes, and they’re a pretty good team. This was a good team, they just didn’t shoot the ball well. That’s kind of our thing. If they shoot the ball well, we’re going to be in trouble. If they don’t, and we rebound, we’re in most games.”

St. Thomas struggled mightily to put the ball in the basket during the first half on Tuesday, but luckily Merrimack Valley struggled even worse. The Saints held the Pride scoreless until the final seconds of the first quarter. Robert Milliken answered by swishing through a 25-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to give St. Thomas a 9-2 lead at the end of one.

“Our defense got us back into it,” Hedberg said. “We started off slow. We should have come out a little bit faster. But we relied on our defense and got right back into it.”

The Saints’ defense continued to clamp down on the visitors in the second quarter, again holding Merrimack Valley scoreless for long stretches. The Pride did not score until more than three minutes into the frame but was 5 for 5 from the line. A pair of transition buckets and a pair of jumpers from Nartiff kept St. Thomas ahead, and the Saints led 21-13 at halftime.

“It’s the story of our season for us,” Merrimack Valley coach Sean Young said. “I don’t think it was anything they did to cause us problems, I just think we missed shots we were supposed to make.”

Andrew Alicea led Merrimack Valley with 11 points.

The Pride came out of the locker room for the second half visibly fired up, but the extra enthusiasm didn’t amount to much in the way of points. The Saints held Merrimack Valley to just two buckets from the field for the entire third quarter, opening the frame with an 11-1 run to end any hope of a comeback. Nartiff’s 3-pointer just over three minutes into the half put St. Thomas up 32-14 and they widened that gap to 41-21 after three stops.

Merrimack Valley kept St. Thomas off the board completely over the final 2:43 of the game and ended the contest on a 7-0 run, but by then victory was well in hand for the Saints. Guy Kassas hit a 3-pointer and Nartiff converted a 3-point play during the stretch.

“They’re learning on the job, if you will,” Sokolnicki said. “Guys are doing a good job buying into what we want to do, and it’s starting to show. Once they develop some more confidence, I think we’ll be a pretty tough out.”

St. Thomas is at Kingswood Friday, the first of three straight road games.

by swishing through a 25-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to give St. Thomas a 9-2 lead at the end of one.

“Our defense got us back into it,” Hedberg said. “We started off slow. We should have come out a little bit faster. But we relied on our defense and got right back into it.”

The Saints’ defense continued to clamp down on the visitors in the second quarter, again holding Merrimack Valley scoreless for long stretches. The Pride did not score until more than three minutes into the frame but was 5 for 5 from the line. A pair of transition buckets and a pair of jumpers from Nartiff kept St. Thomas ahead, and the Saints led 21-13 at halftime.

“It’s the story of our season for us,” Merrimack Valley coach Sean Young said. “I don’t think it was anything they did to cause us problems, I just think we missed shots we were supposed to make.”

Andrew Alicea led Merrimack Valley with 11 points.

The Pride came out of the locker room for the second half visibly fired up, but the extra enthusiasm didn’t amount to much in the way of points. The Saints held Merrimack Valley to just two buckets from the field for the entire third quarter, opening the frame with an 11-1 run to end any hope of a comeback. Nartiff’s 3-pointer just over three minutes into the half put St. Thomas up 32-14 and they widened that gap to 41-21 after three stops.

Merrimack Valley kept St. Thomas off the board completely over the final 2:43 of the game and ended the contest on a 7-0 run, but by then victory was well in hand for the Saints. Guy Kassas hit a 3-pointer and Nartiff converted a 3-point play during the stretch.

“They’re learning on the job, if you will,” Sokolnicki said. “Guys are doing a good job buying into what we want to do, and it’s starting to show. Once they develop some more confidence, I think we’ll be a pretty tough out.”

St. Thomas is at Kingswood Friday, the first of three straight road games.